The kids, me and Papaw loaded up in his minivan and made the trek to Arizona to visit my brother and his family. If you're driving that far, there are things you must see. Here are a few highlights:
1. Albuquerque, New Mexico - there was a lot more to see here. But we were short on time and had bigger sights to see. I have a feeling that if my dad had known that I was on a mission to see Walter White's home on Breaking Bad, he would have thought I'd been the one doing meth. I was on a Heisenberg mission though. We made it before dark. It was awesome.
2. Painted Desert/Petrified Forest - I'd seen this as a child and forgot how awesome it is. The Painted Desert is stunning. The Petrified Wood? Meh. But okay. It's part of the trek.
3. The Grand Canyon - Pictures do not do this place justice. At all. It is truly majestic and powerful. The kids were actually impressed. I could have spent a ton more time there with different camera lenses. The kids would have been miserable and the Mr. B didn't let me leave home with the good lenses. (He's a touch protective.) Maybe he and I can go back someday without our kids.
4. Winslow, Arizona - Yep, from the song by the Eagles, "Take It Easy." We stood on the corner. Just like in the song. I'm easily impressed.
5. Route 66 - It's just kind of cool. Tons of kitschy stuff.
6. Gold King Mine & Ghost Town - This is located at the top of a mountain in Jerome, Arizona. It had cool stuff. Lots of old trucks and LOTS of junk, too. One visit is sufficient. It was cool, but I can't imagine I'll ever go back.
7. Organ Pipe Cactus - This stuff is SO cool. There's a lot near Phoenix.
8. Border Patrol Checkpoints - We didn't get stopped. But the van in front of us did. Whew. That would have delayed us.
9. White Sands National Monument - We've been several times before. The kids still love it. In the spring, it rocks. It's not too hot. Warning though, you need to be thoroughly prepared to clean your kids off when you leave. And no matter how prepared you think you are, you aren't. Never to fear, there's a great car wash in Alamogordo where you can vacuum your vehicle out.
10. Mexican Canyon Train Trestle - First of all, Cloudcroft, NM is one of my favorite places on the planet. It's gorgeous there. The hike to the trestle on the other side is pretty awesome, too. I wish we'd had time for that, too. But it takes time and willing participants. Cam would have. Next time we're out there, I'm totally taking him.
2030 miles later, we made it home. It was a lot to cram in one week. SO worth it. My only regret is not adding a day to the trip and going down to Tombstone on the way home. I'll save that trip for when Mr. B can join us. We also missed seeing the Texas Rangers at spring training. Which is a total shame given that it's only a couple of miles from my brother's house. Our schedules never jived though. Oh well.
All in all, it was a great trip. Fantastic memories were made and nobody got into a fist fight in the car. In fact, we all got along insanely well.
Good trip. Good times.
